Plastic Ono Band

In december 1970 John Lennon released his fist solo album titled "Plastic Ono Band" recorded in the Abbey Road Studio's in London. At the same time Yoko Ono released an album with the same title and almost the same album cover. Before this John released 3 albums together with Yoko Ono with sound experiments and a live album with real music. He was married in 1969 and his honeymoon trip with Yoko existed of staying in bed in hotels in Amsterdam (Hilton hotel) and Montreal (Queen Elizabeth hotel) to protest for world peace. The so-called Bed-Ins. As a reasult of that the single "Give Peace A Chance" was released.

John and Yoko in 1970

The music on the album has a raw sound and songs were influenced by his Primal Scream Therapy. The therapy invented by Arthur Janov. A theme also explored by Tears for Fears on their first 2 albums. Lennon describes his personal issues, child-parent abandonment and psychological suffering. After the break-up of the Beatles John and Yoko were going into therapy under the guidance of Arthur Janov himself for months. The basis for the therapy is to emotionally reliving repressed childhood traumas rather than analytical discussion. They followed him to L.A. to continue their therapy but Lennon ended the therapy because he couldn't stay any longer in LA due to the expiration of his VISA. Janov expressed concern that the therapy had ended prematurely and that Lennon's rediscovered anger over his childhood remained unresolved.

Bed-in for peace by John and Yoko

He processed his feelings after the break-up with the Beatles in the song "God" where he mentioned "I don't believe in Beatles". "Mother" is about the fact he was abandoned by his parents and raised up by his aunt Mimi. "Working Class Hero" is about young children becoming soldiers at war. "Look At Me" was a song he officially intended for the Beatles White Album. "My Mummy's Dead" that closed the album was a demo based around the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice". He also recorded a song titled "When a Boy Meets a Girl" but that never made it tot the album. 

Lennon in 1970

The album reached #1 in the Netherlands, #8 in the UK and #6 in the US. Only "Mother" (Netherlands #10, US #43) was released as a single from the album in some countries. The other exclusive singles that were released in 1969 and 1970 were "Give Peace A Chance" reaching #1 in the Netherlands (US #14, UK #2),  "Cold Turkey" (US #30, UK #12) and "Instant Karma" (Netherlands #7, US #3, UK #5).

Backside of the album

The album was mainly produced by John and Yoko and was completely mixed by Phil Spector. The album cover photo was taken at Lennon's Tittenhurst Park estate. John and Yoko were sitting in a different order for the album of Yoko's album also titled "Plastic Ono Band". On John's album he sits in  front of Yoko and on Yoko's album in the opposite order. The back of the album shows an old picture from Lennon when he was a child.

It's probably his best and most personal album together with the album "Imagine" that followed.

Original album from Yoko

Original album from John

Plastic Ono Band (1970)
Mother / Hold On / I Found Out / Working Class Hero / Isolation / Remember / Love / Well Well Well / Look At Me / God / My Mummy's Dead

Singles 1969:
Give Peace A Chance (Lennon) / Remember Love (Ono)
Cold Turkey (Lennon) / Don't Worry Kyoko (Ono)
Singles 1970:
Instant Karma (Lennon) / Who Has Seen The Wind (Ono)
Mother (Lennon) / Why (Ono)

Give Peace A Chance

Isolation

Love

Instant Karma